Fighting For a New Hope

updated: December 21, 2009

I majored in Architecture and Sociology at the National Taiwan University Graduate School. While these subjects do not have the closest relationship with film, they provide me with wider perspectives within which to read film as a text of different dimensions. The condition of film criticism in my country is pretty much in danger, as celebrity photos and PR releases from Hollywood devour most of our media. People expect nothing from films which do not seem to be more than mere entertainment. I am trying my best with some other writers to fight for a new hope.

Any kind of cinema excites me. However, I feel more interested in originality. My favourite contemporary directors are Atom Egoyan, Peter Greenaway, Godard, Resnais, Kaurismaki, Hal Hartley and P.T. Anderson. I love the cold atmosphere of solitude, and encyclopaedic writing. I have written film reviews for three years. Life as a freelance reviewer is difficult but I am willingly committed to this choice. My expectation of being a member of the Press at the 55th International Berlin Film Festival is to be able to exchange ideas with writers from other countries. I think we may have some similar worries regarding the condition of film criticism nowadays.

Huang Hsiang-yao (Taiwan)